Half of Britons have seen AI-generated actors in ads – and they don’t like them

The use of AI-generated actors has become a recurring theme in the marketing industry, with brands either satirising the phenomenon (such as McDonald’s) or playing it straight. In the United States, New York recently introduced a law requiring the disclosure of “synthetic performers” on social media and in advertising campaigns.

But what does the UK think? YouGov Surveys data shows that 69% of Britons have seen online advertisements featuring AI-generated actors, with half of the public (49%) saying they have seen them very or fairly often.

And our data shows that three-quarters of those who have seen them don’t like them (76%), with two-thirds finding them less convincing than human actors (68%).

When we asked the public to describe their feelings towards AI-generated actors in advertising in a single sentence, opponents used a raft of colourful language. AI-generated actors were variously described as a “manipulation”, “soulless”, a “poor substitute”, and a “travesty that should be immediately outlawed”. Some more moderate voices said they were acceptable “as long as [the viewer is] aware”, or “as long as the information was truthful”.

Awareness was a recurring subject, and one we covered in our survey. Some 94% of Britons believe that companies should disclose using AI-generated actors in ads, with only 2% saying they should not.

When is or is it not acceptable to use AI-generated actors?

So when, if at all, is it okay to use an AI-generated actor?

Our data shows that 45% of Britons say it’s acceptable to use synthetic performers for humour, and a similar proportion (44%) say it’s okay to use them as background characters. Nearly two in five say they’re acceptable to use for entertainment or storytelling purposes (38%).

Three in ten say it’s acceptable to use AI-generated actors for explaining services (30%, and a quarter say the same of product demonstrations (23%). The least accepted among the options we provided were promoting financial (7%) or health claims (6%).

AI actors and brand trust

But how would using AI-generated actors impact brand trust? Not positively. Our data shows that nearly four in five Britons (78%) would be less trusting of a brand that used AI-generated actors.

This rises to 83% of younger Britons aged 18-34, falling to 74% of over-55s.

Methodology

YouGov polled 2,012 UK adults online on 6-7 July 2026. The survey was carried out through YouGov Surveys: Self-serve. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. The margin of error is 2% for the overall sample.

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